PHOTOS: Ipswich mall 30 years before it was demolished

MORE than three decades before the Ipswich Mall was the demolished hole in the ground it is today, it was a bustling, lively business hot spot.

The same excitement Ipswich City Council, the community and business have for the $150 million CBD redevelopment took over the city in the early 1980s when the city underwent an initial cosmetic and structural facelift.

In never before published QT file photos, old cars and vans hoot down Brisbane St, major department stores are flattened by fire, the current Ipswich City Council chambers were being built and the city was alive with activity.

Fast forward more than 30 years and the new CBD redevelopment has reduced parts of the mall to rubble but with the promise of something equally fresh and exciting to take its place.